Step 5 - Follow-up Analysis

Now that you have narrowed your search down to a short list of nursing homes, it is time re-visit some of the earlier steps. Contact the people in your network (from step 1) and make sure they are comfortable with your short list. See if they have any additional information to offer about the homes on your short list. 

Follow-up Visits 
You should visit the nursing homes on your short list at least one more time (or as many additional times as you think necessary). Make sure that you see the home at least once in the evening and/or on a weekend because staffing is frequently different at these times. Also, your follow-up visit should include at- tending a meeting of the nursing home's resident council and/or family council. These meetings will give you a unique look at the concerns of the residents and/ or their families. If the nursing home does not have resident or family councils, that might tell you something about the philosophy of the home's management. 

Follow-up visits should be conducted at different times of the day than your first visit. Be sure at least one of your visits was during the late morning or midday, so you can observe residents when they are out of bed, eating, and attending activities. Continue to ask questions, and take special note of the differences between the nursing homes left on your short list. 

After your follow-up visits, you should be able to narrow your short list down to a few nursing homes. At this point it still may be difficult to pick one. A final call to the ombudsman and the other people who provided you with information in the past might help. If you have any additional questions, do not hesitate to contact or visit the nursing home again. 

You should now be ready to select the nursing home that is best able to meet your needs. The final decision may still be difficult, and it is possible that more than one nursing home will be a good choice for you. However, you should now have enough information to be confident that you are making the wisest possible choice.